Sina Orange Ginger Chews

Despite their attempts to undo my dental work, I was very pleased with the Sina Ginger Chews that I reviewed last December. They were cheap, had a good strong ginger flavor, and were easy to find at several Asian markets. When I saw this orange variety at a tiny little Asian market on Castro Street in Mountain View, I jumped at the chance. Well, I didn't literally "jump" because the shopkeeper was already eyeballing me as I went around looking for Japanese stuff, but I did give her my dollar and happily exit the store with the 2-oz (56 g.) box in hand. 

Saying "damn the fillings" and risking death by choking by sampling one of these in the car without water to wash it down, I disengaged one from its foil prison and put it in my mouth. These things are so sticky that I think even Teflon packaging wouldn't stop the chews from adhering to them. The orange ones were not different than the ginger ones in terms of their potential to lodge in a cranny of your teeth and suck out the amalgam or stick to the back of your esophagus, and they also look like a severed cats tongue on a plate when removed from their attractive individual wrappers.

The orange hits at the beginning in a flavor that, sadly, reminds me of stale juice. The ginger comes up the rear and overtakes the citrus fruit until it totally overwhelms and produces a pleasant gingery heat throughout your mouth. Ahhhh, that's better. I still love that ginger kick, but I'm not sure that the orange is bringing much of value to the mix. It may add a little sweetness, or a little citrus balance, but it just didn't add to the overall appeal of the candy for me. 

One of my favorite indulgent drinks is to take orange juice and mix it with ginger ale. I was hoping for the favorable aspects of that combination to come through in this, but it just didn't do much for me. This is absolutely not bad and I'd surely buy another box if it was this or nothing. However, I'd prefer the unadulterated original ginger chew to the orange one. If the orange isn't doing much, then I see no point in bothering to have it there. 

Glico Almond Chew

The picture of the Glico man printed on the back of my small box of almond chews is very tiny. The normal details of an illustration of a man running with arms raised as he crosses the finish line now appear to be a naked man censored with three white blobs with the characters for gu-ri-ko written on them. It's nice to see that even the most innocent and wholesome of corporate mascots can be perverted if the mind viewing it is dirty enough.

Here's a bit of trivia for you about Glico. Though it is well-known abroad for making Pocky, it's first product was a caramel made from glycogen. The company's name comes from that ingredient. Ironically, caramels are nowhere to be seen on their web site's main attractions.

I'd been seeing this box of almond chews in Okashi no Machioka for a very long time. It's one of the things which is always on offer in the section with kid's candy and old-fashioned candy. The standard size box is 18 chews and similar to the plethora of caramel and chewy candies you find in Japan, but I didn't want to get such a big box considering it takes me about a month to consume all of it and once the plastic outer wrapping is removed, the chews (or caramels) get moist and icky before I can finish them. Recently, a smaller box was for sale for 49 yen (54 cents) so I snapped it up and took the plunge.


There are 10 chews in the small box that I bought. Each is individually wrapped in wax paper and they're 19 calories per chew. The size is about 2 cm x 1.6 cm x 1 cm (.8 in. x .6 in. x .4 in.), so they're not very big. You can see cross sections of almonds in every chew, though the density of nuts is not all that high.

The candy smells like nut candy. It's like a much fainter versions of what you smell when you open a box of nut brittle. The flavor is an interesting balance between sweetness, nuttiness, and subtle caramel flavor. It's not overly buttery, nor heavily sweetened. The nut flavor does not come through exceptionally strongly either, but it all comes together to create a unique flavor mixture and texture that doesn't overstate any of the components.

I didn't think much of these when I ate the first one, but then I wanted another, and another. I quickly found myself wanting not to stop so clearly these are rather addicting. One caveat I offer is the fact that these are much harder to eat when quite cold. It's important to get them at least to room temperature

Ezo Brown Bear Strawberry Milk Chews

So much Japanese candy is adorned with cutesy little cartoon mascots. It's almost refreshing to see a ferocious, snarling bear on the front of one the them. In fact, I really wish I could send a case of these to Stephen Colbert. I'm sure they'd be all the more appetizing to someone with his unique appreciation of the less cuddly nature of bears. Some might doubt the marketing value of putting a creature that looks like it would enjoy nothing more than mauling you on a box of sweets, but it can't all be Pikachu and Totoro.


These candies are a souvenir from Hokkaido, though we picked them up at a candy shop in our neighborhood in Tokyo. Somehow the whole Japanese regional food obsession seems a little less understandable if you can get these types of things anywhere outside of their specific regions. The box has one of those long-winded statements in English that you sometimes find on Japanese products. For the record, most of these assertions are earnest and about nature preservation or appreciation. I'm told this sort of thing plays well with the locals, but mainly as a decorative element as most Japanese folks don't bother to read the English (or understand it). To me, these statements have always come across as a bit corny, but they're not there for the likes of me.

These are made by a company called Dounan. The company is located in Hakodate in Hokkaido (northern Japan) and was established in 1919. Their Ezo Brown Bear line includes 3 flavors of caramel chews and a few chocolate bars. They make a variety of caramel "chews" as well as a few drinks and other sweets. One of the more interesting items they make is chocolate-covered freeze-dried strawberries. If I could get my hands on them, I'd love to try their corn chocolates and caramels. The corn chocolates look like little cobs and are just darling. Everything they make can be purchased via mail order from their web site if you can understand Japanese, though I'm betting they only ship domestically.


The box contains 18 strawberry milk chews which are 1.5 cm (.6 in.) x 2 cm (.8 in.) in size and wrapped individually in wax paper. The box could easily fit 20 candies because there's a long gap at the top, but I guess that they're being a little cheap or someone didn't design the box properly. The candy smells faintly of real strawberry and each is firm to the touch. When you put them in your mouth, they're slightly sweet and a little tart. They're pleasantly chewy and easy to bite into. There's a hint of milky flavor as well. They're like a soft Tootsie roll in terms of texture. They're not as slick or gum-like as a Hi-Chew.

These have a very good and natural strawberry flavor. It's mild because of the milk, but the flavor is clearly present and well-balanced. These are definitely worth a try. Even if you hate strawberry, you should buy them for the nifty box.

Honey Lemon Hi-Chew

Hi-Chew is one of the most reviewed snack foods among those who talk about such things. Prior to this post, I was a Hi-Chew virgin. Yes, I've been in Japan for 20 years and never felt compelled to sample one of these. In fact, I can't honestly say that I was compelled this time since my husband bought this for us to try.

This Hi-Chew flavor is somewhat special in that it can only be purchased at "New Days" convenience stores in Tokyo, at least that's what the sign at New Days said. They could be trying to express unfounded Hi-Chew Honey Lemon superiority. That being said, I'm not sure why they'd make such a bold claim if it weren't true. New Days is a chain of stores that is only located in Japan Railway (JR) stations.


If like me, you have never had a Hi-Chew before, it's a soft blob of candy which is like non-sticky taffy. It greatly feels like gum that melts in your mouth as you chew it, which is no surprise considering the name includes "chew". It smells vaguely of honey and gum and oddly had little or no lemon scent.

The taste at first is mostly lemon, and a strong flavor at that, followed by the honey. Both flavors become quite present as you chew. It reminds me of a lemony honey cough drop without the medicine aspects. It's good, but it hurt my teeth as I chewed it. It could be just that my teeth were sensitive at the time, but it rather turned me off to eating more of them. Each candy is 18 calories and there are 12 of them in a pack for about a dollar (99 yen).

These are nice, but the honey lemon pairing is a little too etched in my mind as something that goes with cough drops rather than with candy. These are immensely flavorful and the texture is quite nice, but they're not my cup of tea.

"Oishi" (Delicious) Black Sugar "Marshmallow" Sticks

When you first arrive in Japan, there is a cornucopia of food items which look pretty strange. Some of them you will be brave enough to sample and others look just too strange to even consider. The snack item pictured above looks like something you might find floating in a toilet. The funny thing is that this is one of the better looking varieties of this particular snack.

The "translation" of this particular food is pretty weak. These aren't marshmallows, but, like sushi, there isn't a good word to describe this treat simply and easily. There are many varieties of these in Japan and they all are coated on the outside with brown sugar, or, as the Japanese call it, "black sugar". Some varieties are a little hard on the outside and firm on the inside and others are very soft on the inside and a little soft on the outside. The cheapest varieties are white on the inside. I'm guessing that they have less flavor and that's why they're cheaper. I have read that these are a specialty of Kyushu and it's possible that the more pedestrian varieties are knock-offs rather than the real deal.


My hunch regarding the reason these are (at least sometimes) translated as 'marshmallow' is that they are a bit spongy like a marshmallow and they are quite sweet. The process by which they are made is likely very different as the ingredients are different and these are more like a super airy coarse cake inside than a marshmallow though there is a certain textural resemblance when you bite into one. These are, essentially, a type of baked good. The information I found on them states that their origin in Japan is unclear, but that the speculation is that they are a sweet inspired by the West rather than something absolutely indigenous to Japan.

If you love brown sugar or molasses, these are an incredible treat. They are sugary and light. The firm texture on the outside makes an excellent contrast to the airy interior. They smell like molasses, but don't have an oppressively sweet smell. They aren't chewy and are a bit like eating a super soft, spongy biscotti. Though they feel quite hard if you press on one through the bag, they are actually very easy to bite into.

The main ingredient is flour followed by various types of sugar (brown (black) sugar, sugar, and grape sugar), eggs and a leavening agent. These are not nutritious, but they are also not high in calories. Each little bite (about 1.25 inches) is about 20 calories and you'd be hard-pressed to eat too many at one time given how sweet they are. They are very satisfying when you have a craving for something sweet and I can see how they'd pair well with coffee or tea.

This particular variety is a little more expensive than the types that are geared toward kids or families. This bag has 3 packages of about 16 bites (80 grams or 2.8 oz.) for 350 yen ($3.24 USD). It's worth every yen of it. I'm certain to buy these again. This variety is made by Nagashima (ナガシマ) and they are 'carefully' "handmade" in Kagoshima and have been making them for 70 years with flour and brown sugar made in Kyushu, Japan. I searched a bit on the Internet to see if I could find any on-line sellers who might be selling them in the U.S. and not only could I not find an agent that sold them abroad, but I couldn't locate them at Amazon Japan. You can get them direct from some of the manufacturers if you can deal with Japanese web sites, but the easiest way is to visit Japan or have a friend here pick you up some. I'd highly recommend giving them a try despite their suspect appearance.